I know I’ve said it before but I’m not a huge fan of Flash comics. I like the character and loved the TV show from 1990 but when it seems like he’s wrapped up in stories with a dozen other characters with the same powers, it’s boring. This is why I quit watching the modern TV show on the CW.

However, I have always enjoyed Flash’s Rogues because they present different types of challenges other than whether or not the fast guy can catch the other fast guy.

That being said, I picked this story arc up, leapfrogging over the first two volumes because it focuses on the Rogues.

Overall, I was really happy with this story. It was entertaining, fun and had a good plot with a nice twist worked in.

Now the Rogues story only covers about the first half of this collection but the followup story was also good.

Maybe I will give Joshua Williamson’s other arcs a read.

The thing is, I want to like the Flash but in modern times, the comic has the same issues that the television show does. But this story reminded me of Flash comics from the ’80s when I first checked out the character. Back when he’d fight Captain Cold, the Trickster, the Mirror Master and Gorilla Grodd a lot.

I wasn’t super big into the volume before this one. That could also be due to me not really liking the Legion character, who had a major presence in that book.

This volume finds its footing a bit more and I enjoyed both stories that were collected here.

I like this team, overall, and their dynamic. There are interesting twists to the story but the first half of this collection ties into a crossover event where some of the context is lost, due to this not featuring the parts of the story that weren’t specifically published as New Mutants issues. Also, this volume leads into the big Second Coming event.

Regardless of this being tied to and setting up other stories, I like the chemistry within the group and how the characters are written and how they’re evolving here. In fact, I assumed I’d give up after this volume but I think I’ll give the third one a read too.

I’m a big New Mutants fan and always have been. I just haven’t been very satisfied with their comics since the original run in the ’80s and early ’90s. Zeb Wells’ run seems to be carving out its place in the larger mythos though.

Plus, I dig the art.

All in all, not a bad book, better than most New Mutants collections after the original run and I’m at least interested in sticking with it beyond this chapter in the series.

Rating: 6.75/10Pairs well with: the volume before this story, as well as most New Mutants stories featuring some of the key original members.

Few things in life are actually “epic as fuck”. This hefty collection of Kurt Busiek’s Conan run is one of those things.

This collects twenty comics worth of Conan stories and even throws a Fabian Nicieza one in for a little extra cherry on top of this badass sundae.

Every story in this collection is good. I’m not just saying that. Busiek understands the character of Conan, his world and really goes to great length at penning some fabulous story arcs.

This even gives us a good story featuring Thoth-Amon, one of Conan’s biggest villains over the years.

Kurt Busiek should be proud of his run here. He has written several stories that are good enough to stand alongside Robert E. Howard’s original work. Busiek gets Conan and the character’s audience.

Additionally, most of the art in this is perfect. There are a few single issues mixed in that have art that isn’t as good but those were mostly filler issues where the main artist was probably off working on another title.

All in all, this is a great Conan collection and the first part of one of the absolute best runs on the character in the comic book medium.

I have the second collection, which I will read and review in the near future.

Rating: 9/10Pairs well with: the rest of Kurt Busiek’s Conan run, as well as other Conan comics from the Dark Horse era.

I wasn’t sure what to think going into this series. I mean, I always liked Stephanie Brown as Spoiler since she first popped up in the ’90s but I’m not too keen on anyone other than Barbara Gordon being Batgirl.

However, I’m really happy to say that this book impressed me and was a heck of an exciting read.

Stephanie Brown is just a fun character and in many ways she reminds me of Barbara Gordon before she became Oracle. She has a lot of energy and her personality is infectious and definitely comes right off of the page.

That being said, this is very well written. Bryan Q. Miller was hitting homers right out of the park with just about every issue of the twelve that are collected in this big volume.

Reading this now is also interesting because it all takes place in the era where Dick Grayson a.k.a. Nightwing was filling in for Batman. It creates an interesting dynamic between the characters and what they all think Bruce Wayne wanted for his legacy.

Barbara Gordon is in this as Oracle and she is essentially the new Batgirl’s Alfred. It’s a nice passing of the torch to Stephanie Brown and it sort of legitimizes her. As a reader and fan of Barbara, her acceptance of Stephanie translates to the reader who may have reservations about a new Batgirl.

All the story arcs within this served a purpose and it was neat seeing Stephanie grow in this role. The final arc, a four parter called Flood is the highlight of the book. It’s a story that features The Calculator as the villain and it calls back to one of the more important Oracle stories.

This book was cool. I dug the hell out of it and I can’t wait to read the second volume.

Overall, this wasn’t as strong as the first Matthew Rosenberg story arc but this builds off of it in an interesting way. However, by the end of it, you’re left empty handed because Baron Zemo evades the Punisher once again.

Still, Rosenberg is doing a stupendous job on The Punisher and I hope he sticks around for some time and keeps this momentum going.

Also, this just hits the right notes for me, as it is Frank Castle, being merciless, trying his damnedest to hunt down and kill Zemo, even if his biggest rival Jigsaw keeps getting in his way.

I’m a fan of the art style by Szymon Kudranski, it’s gritty and works for the tone. However, I have seen some criticism about how he doesn’t make characters with specific physical traits pop off of the panel in ways that you can instantly recognize.

For instance, his take on Jigsaw makes it hard to tell that you’re looking at Jigsaw unless he’s shown in close up. I agree with the criticism but it doesn’t break the book for me, as it is clear who the characters are through the story. But this should be improved upon.

While this was a pretty badass arc, it falls a bit short of the previous one because it seemed to slow the narrative down and with how this ends, it leaves Frank Castle’s hunt for Baron Zemo unfinished. While I love Zemo, he’s one of my favorite villains, period, the Punisher’s apprehension or murder of him is really being dragged out much longer than it needs to be.

But maybe Rosenberg has a solid plan for the next arc. I guess I’ll have to wait and find out.

Rating: 8.25/10Pairs well with: old school late ’80s to early ’90s Punisher and the recent Marvel Knights 20th anniversary event.

While I wasn’t super fond of the first Star Trek and Green Lantern crossover, I bought both volumes so I had to give this one a read too. I’m glad I did though, as this one was better than the first.

The main difference is that this story really had its footing. The first arc served to establish this alternate reality where Lanterns and the Kelvin timeline of the Star Trek universe co-exist. In this volume, the story just bursts out the gates, running.

All the weird bullshit with the Black Lanterns and zombie Vulcans is over, which was refreshing. Instead, we get the Manhunters from Green Lantern lore and the return of the Benedict Cumberbatch version of Khan Noonien Singh. And Khan acquires Atrocitus’ red ring. Khan also has his entire crew by his side, which makes him an even more dangerous threat.

I’ve got to say though, I’ve really enjoyed Angel Hernandez’s art in both of these crossovers. He illustrates the characters’ likenesses really well. Plus, his style captures the tone of the Kelvin movies superbly.

There are some neat surprises in this chapter of the saga and it leaves things open for more. I’m not sure if there will be a third crossover for these two franchises but I’m not opposed to it.

At the end of the day, this didn’t blow me away but for a fan of both franchises, it was a fun experiment to read.

Rating: 6.75/10Pairs well with: its previous installment, as well as Planet of the Apes/Green Lantern and Star Trek/Planet of the Apes.

I’ve been a fan of Christopher Priest’s solid run on Deathstroke, so I wanted to go back and check out some of the earlier Deathstroke titles since the start of DC Comics’ The New 52.

I kind of wish I hadn’t though, as this was nowhere near the great level of Priest’s work over the last few years.

In this story, Deathstroke is a real shithead. There is very little about him that makes him interesting or redeemable within this collection of issues. Frankly, this was a total dud.

The bulk of the plot deals with Deathstroke fighting with his son, Ravager. Usually, Ravager stories are good and engaging but nothing in this story felt organic. It felt kind of forced and the characters completely lacked depth. I think that it relies on the reader knowing everything they need to know about Deathstroke, Ravager and their past.

Being that this was the launch of the Deathstroke character within the rebooted New 52 canon, it needed character development and it certainly needed to spell things out a bit more for the reader.

After this collection, we get the second and final volume of this short-lived Deathstroke series. But I want to read that one because it is written and drawn by Rob Liefeld. It’ll be interesting to see his take on the character, as his most famous creation, Deadpool, is a parody of Deathstroke.